The Marine Museum at Fall River is a cultural gem and contains a wealth of Fall River Maritime History especially Steam Ship and Titanic memorabilia. Discover the art, books, models and many treasures the Marine Museum holds. This is a must see
...

The Marine Museum at Fall River is a cultural gem and contains a wealth of Fall River Maritime History especially Steam Ship and Titanic memorabilia. Discover the art, books, models and many treasures the Marine Museum holds. This is a must see resource for landlubbers and mariners alike.

Carol Gafford is a public librarian, family historian, amateur archivist and book savior. She is currently the youth services/outreach librarian at the Swansea Public Library and volunteers for several museum and historical societies including the Marine Museum at Fall River, the Swansea Historical Society and the Bristol Historical and Preservation society. She is the editor of Past Times, the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists and is always looking for a new project to take on.

Andrew Ference was suspended for one game Thursday and will sit out Saturday night when the Bruins host the Maple Leafs in Game 2 of their first-round series.

Ference’s penalty was a result of his hit to the head of Toronto center Mikhail Grabovski in the first period of Wednesday’s Game 1.

Widget: blog_inline_images

image

image_size

Medium

As both players met from opposite directions to play the puck behind the Bruins net, Ference raised his left arm and connected to Grabovski’s head with his upper arm.

Grabovski went down, but got up quickly and finished the game with no apparent injury.

“Ference makes the decision to check Grabovski after playing the puck,” league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan said in a video explaining the suspension. “However, in doing so, he lunges toward Grabovski, extending his left arm and shoulder, picking Grabovski’s head and making it the initial point of contact. While we agree that Grabovski is eligible for some body contact during this puck chase and that Ference can and should reasonably protect himself against impending hits, the fact remains that Ference cannot initiate a check such as this that recklessly targets Grabovski’s head and makes it the principal point of target.

“It’s important to note that we don’t see this play as defensive in nature. Ference is in control of this play and is not merely bracing for contact. And although Grabovski is back over in his pursuit of the puck, he does not change his positioning of his head just prior to or simultaneous with contact in any way that contributes to this illegal check to the head.

“That puts the onus on Ference to avoid this forceful contact entirely, or at the very least hit Grabovski square through the body.”

The Bruins can replace Ference with talented rookie Dougie Hamilton, but they’ll first have to decide if they’re willing to break up shutdown defensive pair Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg. Chara and Seidenberg have been together for three straight postseasons and were successful in limiting Toronto’s No. 1 line of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel in Game 1.

Ference’s absence creates a need for a left-shot defenseman and Hamilton strictly works on the right side. Seidenberg can play both sides.

If the Bruins decide to keep Chara and Seidenberg together, Aaron Johnson could get the call or the Bruins could call up Matt Bartkowski from Providence.

Johnson hasn’t played since March 30 when he had big-time puck-handling problems in a loss at Philadelphia. Bartkowski was passed by Wade Redden on the depth chart in the final weeks of the regular season and was sent to Providence last Friday to get in some games. He was better than his first two NHL stints, but still had some struggles with decision-making.

Hamilton was dynamic in the first half of the season, but slumped down the stretch and it became clear coach Claude Julien didn’t trust him in the defensive zone.

If they go with Hamilton, here’s what the defensive six-pack could look like: